Art Alley

Art Alley runs one block between 6th and 7th Streets, connecting Main Street and St. Joseph Street in the heart of downtown Rapid City. What started around 2003 with a painted door and a couple of light poles grew organically into one of South Dakota's most distinctive public art spaces — every wall, door, and dumpster a rotating canvas of murals, graffiti, political statements, portraits, and pop culture. In 2016 the Rapid City Arts Council formalized the space with a free permit system, ensuring the art evolves continuously while keeping offensive content out. In 2023 Black Hills Energy buried the overhead infrastructure and opened up new brick wall surfaces and a wide-open sky view — transforming the alley into an even more dramatic corridor. The walls change constantly, sometimes multiple times a day. The alley is simply always there, always different. Photographers, muralists, tourists, and curious passersby wander through year-round. Rapid City's Art Alley is located between 6th and 7th Streets off Main Street.